Friday, March 28, 2014

Waves of uncertainty over wi-fi.

Last updated 10:10 29/03/2014

After thousands of studies, the most that experts worldwide can determine is the radiation used for wi-fi networks, digital devices, cordless phones and cell phones is a "possible" cause of cancer. With such uncertainty, OLIVIA WANNAN asks if we are using this technology with enough caution.

As in many countries around the world, the debate about long- wave radiation has come to a head in New Zealand through the recent introduction of wi-fi networks in schools.

The energy waves have been harnessed for more than a century to bring radio and television to our home, track objects by radar, microwave our food, and connect us through texts, phone calls and the internet.

Yet the World Health Organisation lists this radiation as a "possible" cause of cancer, based on research showing a link between heavy cellphone use and an increased risk of developing brain tumours.

Kapiti Coast parent Damon Wyman is a vocal advocate for caution. He became aware of the possible health effects of wireless technology after losing his son Ethan, 10, to cancer last August.

Ethan died 11 months after being diagnosed with two brain tumours. Three months earlier, he had been given a wi-fi connected iPad.

His parents later discovered he had been falling asleep with the device under his pillow.

Even though it was on standby, it was still emitting bursts of radiation as it tried to connect to the router, Mr Wyman said.

Doctors who saw Ethan said the tumours appeared to be about four months old, Mr Wyman said. "We're not saying that caused it, but it seems like a bit of a coincidence."

Children were rarely exposed to most of the other potential cancer- causing agents such as coffee and lead, Mr Wyman said.

Until recently, parents could limit exposure to the energy waves, deciding what age their child received a cellphone or digital device and setting restrictions on their use. But new bring-your-own-device initiatives introducing wireless networks running all day in school classrooms had suddenly taken away that control.

"Schools have to be neutral. They have to have a safe environment," he said.

Mr Wyman has campaigned to have the technology turned off in the junior classrooms at Te Horo School. The board of trustees decided to switch it off after surveying parents, who were concerned about the possible health effects.

This month the Government reiterated its belief that wi-fi in schools was safe, backed by the result of a study at Te Horo School and one in Canterbury.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew said the study confirmed wi-fi in schools was not a health risk to pupils or staff, with exposures thousands of times lower than recommended levels.

Mr Wyman remains sceptical.

He said many parents falsely believed a classroom's wi-fi station emitted no more radiation than an at-home router. But new school wi- fi systems were "industrial- grade", emitting a lot more than a residential version. Professional measurements of the classroom's wi-fi station at Te Horo School showed similar radiation levels to those of some commercial cellphone network towers.

"This goes way beyond what a child would see normally."

Mr Wyman obtained the figures from measurements taken by radiation expert and Ministry of Health adviser Martin Gledhill.

The ministry called in Mr Gledhill to assess the levels of radiation in Te Horo School classrooms with wi-fi after the board switched it off. He disagreed that school systems emitted significantly more radiation than at-home routers. "There might be some variation, but it's not going to be hugely different.

"What they're getting at home and what they might get at school is a bit of a red herring. Really, what's important is where it sits with what's considered a safe limit." Mr Gledhill said the radiation emissions in the classroom were, at the most, still 250 times less than the maximum New Zealand safety limits allowed.

The wi-fi base station and the electronic devices also communicated in pulses, so averaged out over time, overall radiation was even lower, he said.

Mr Gledhill, a physical sciences expert, is the Health Ministry's only expert spokesman on the safety of the emissions. Requests from The Dominion Post to the ministry to additionally speak to a specialist with a background in biology were unsuccessful.

Mr Gledhill said the maximum safety levels prescribed in New Zealand were set in 1999, based on guidelines established by an international panel of experts. Many nations took their guidance from the same group, including Australia and Britain. Nothing since has moved the panel to make any new recommendations.

"The only effect that showed up with any consistency was the effects of heat stress and the limit was set based on that.

"You get people who say it ignores all sort of other [health] effects, but an awful lot of work has gone on for the last 30 years looking for effects at exposure levels much lower . . . but nothing has shown up with any clarity."

Britain's Health Protection Agency echoed this when it looked at studies up until 2010, noting "findings still remain divergent with no obvious reason as to why some researchers find effects and others do not".

Yet a biologist specialising in radiation spoken to by The Dominion Post last year said things were becoming a little more clear cut at the cellular level.

"Of late there has been more evidence there are certain changes in the biochemistry within cells and tissues exposed to radio frequencies [long-wave radiation]," said Sophie Walker of the Institute of Environmental Science and Research.

"It's quite a new area really in terms of science. And translating those changes in the biochemistry through to experienced short-term changes is a difficult link to make - one that will be made with more work."

Dr Walker said conclusive evidence on radiation's risks and safety was still years away.

"[The radiation] has only been used in the wider population for the last 30 years so true long-term studies are still under way."

She provided twice-yearly reports to the Health Ministry on the latest scientific findings. A spokesman for the Crown research institute said Dr Walker was unable to comment for this article, citing the institute's contractual obligations to the Health Ministry.

The uncertainty around the radiation's effect should mean we treat the technologies using it with kid gloves rather than abandon, Monash University radiation researcher Mary Redmayne said.

The Melbourne-based scientist said there was not enough research for us to know what a safe level of exposure was.

"The research has looked at a narrow range of possible problems," she said. "For instance, I'm going to set up a breast cancer study. There hasn't been a breast cancer study - no- one's considered that."

Many studies have focused on the technology's link with brain cancers and leukemia in children, and DNA damage in sperm.

Dr Redmayne has studied the effect of long-wave radiation, particularly on the young.

She said young people have thinner skulls, and the brain's protective defences - a protein that covers nerve cells called myelin - were only fully developed in middle age. This combination meant children's brains were poorly insulated from outside interference, such as radiation.

Their bodies also grew more new cells than adults. The damage that led to cancer happened more commonly as cells were divided into new ones. "This pulsed radiation is very new to mankind, very recent. There really hasn't been time to know for sure how much effect it has."

However, the ministry remained certain of its policies, based on the advice of experts such as Mr Gledhill and backed up by a broad international consensus, environmental health manager Sally Gilbert said.

"The internationally recommended values for maximum exposure for radio- frequency [radiation] and electromagnetic fields provide good protection against harm."

When it came to wi-fi in schools, the Education Ministry was confident it was safe, based on Mr Gledhill's report on Te Horo School and advice from health officials, Education deputy secretary Andrew Hampton said.

The ministry would continue to monitor international developments, and allow school boards to make their own decisions on installing wireless technology.

While Mr Wyman might wish for moves like those in the German state of Bavaria, which promotes the use of wired internet networks in schools, he is a pragmatist.

He would like to see policies minimising children's exposure in schools until the data became more conclusive. Rules requiring teachers to switching off wi-fi bases when not in use, asking their pupils to use flight mode on their devices, and encouraging them to place electronics on desks rather than on their laps could all significantly reduce exposure.

Many education providers already have policies to minimise pupils' exposure to a similar type of radiation, ultraviolet light, Mr Wyman said.

Even the chance that wi-fi technology was dangerous should be enough to have such initiatives.

"Who bears the risk until this is known? Let's take the precautionary principle and reduce exposure as much as possible."

CUT BACK ON YOUR EXPOSURE

MOBILES AND DEVICES

Before buying a cellphone or internet-capable device, check out its SAR (specific absorption rate) rating - though in New Zealand you'll likely have to go online for this information. The SAR measures how much the device's emissions are absorbed by the body. Lower ratings indicate lower absorption.

Ensure your mobile has flight mode and use this as often as you can, including overnight, and when carrying it close to your body.

For long computing tasks, select a wired desktop or plugged-in laptop, rather than a wireless tablet.

Avoid holding a laptop or device on your lap or stomach - use a table instead, unless it's in flight mode.

When you can, choose a text over a call. Keep phone calls to a minimum or use a hands-free kit.

Keep calls to a minimum where reception is bad - when a mobile is far from a cell tower, it has to boost its signal to connect.

Choose a wired mouse and keyboard.

CORDLESS PHONES

If possible, choose cordless devices, or purchase one with speaker-phone capabilities.

Keep the main transmitting base of the cordless phone away from bedrooms and desks.

Keep calls short.

WI-FI

When installing a transmitting unit, ask for it to be put up high, such as on the wall or a shelf, away from bedrooms or where people sit.

Only turn the system on when you're using it. Make sure the router is turned off overnight, especially.

Choose software on a laptop rather than cloud-computing technology such as Google Docs, if you're using wi-fi. Typing in a Google Docs word processing means a wi-fi signal is sent with every single keystroke.

She became ill after a wireless smart meter was installed on her house 19 March 2013. Sofia hadn’t given permission for its installation. In fact, she wasn’t even aware that her original electricity meter had been swapped for a smart meter, as it occurred whilst she was on an interstate business trip.

It was only afterwards, when she and her medical advisors were searching for the cause of the sudden deterioration in her health, that she discovered the horrible coincidence. The smart meter had been installed in the worst possible position, inside her bedroom cavity wall, just centimetres from where her head lay as she slept at night.

Victorian smart meters, such as hers, emit microwave radiation 24/7. Network traffic can result in as many as 190,000 transmissions per day from a mesh smart meter. Authorities never alerted the public to this fact.

The technicalities of wireless smart meters were the last thing on Sofia’s mind when she ended up in hospital with swollen legs and an acute burning rash, all over her body. She had developed a burning sensation in her eyes, throat, mouth, and covering her face. That was just the start of the nightmare. Sofia was also suffering from unexplained headaches, insomnia, nausea, irritability, constant fatigue and short-term memory loss. To make matters worse, she experienced an acute deterioration of her vision.

Sofia was subsequently diagnosed with EHS (electro hypersensitivity), triggered by her smart meter’s microwave radiation. She has had to cease professional employment. She is no longer able to go about her normal daily activities in the community, without experiencing great pain from exposure to ubiquitous electromagnetic radiation. She is now on a Disability Pension.

All Sofia is asking for is the return of her safe, analogue meter. But do you think her power distributor, United Energy, or the Victorian State government are listening? All her pleas have been ignored and ridiculed. Even the Victorian Energy Ombudsman was unable to help her.

Finally, at her wits’ end, and in a state of unbearable pain, Sofia took matters into her own hands. Her smart meter was removed. As a result, her health slowly started to improve. In order to show good faith and a willingness to pay her electricity bills, Sofia continued to pay her electricity based on estimated usage.

On 3 March 2014, 8.30am Sofia’s power was cut off, without warning or written notification. United Energy, Sofia’s power distributor, refuses to reconnect her, unless a wireless smart meter is installed.

This is despite the provision of medical evidence verifying her condition. This is despite the fact that other Victorians, who have objected to a smart meter, have now received letters formally honouring their request to not have a smart meter installed.

It seems that the horrible quagmire which Sofia ended up in would never have eventuated, if only she had known enough in the first place to lock her meter box.

Her requests to speak to her power distributor’s management have been refused. Efforts by her Federal MP and Legal Aid have come to naught. A representative of the Victorian Department of State Development and Business Innovation lamely suggested that she move to the country to escape the radiation, leaving her 14-year daughter in the care of friends so she can continue with her schooling.

And this all is happening, despite the former Energy Minister stressing, in one of his interviews, that disconnecting power from people’s houses is INHUMANE.

Sofia and her daughter are still living without power and suffering immensely mentally and emotionally.

How callous and inhumane can United Energy be?

How could this happen to anyone living in a democratic country like Australia?

'Smart meters' pose no health risk, Maine regulators say

The preliminary finding deals a blow to activists who say the technology harms humans. They have until April 11 to appeal the report.

The digital “smart meters” that Central Maine Power Co. has installed at almost every home and business it serves pose no health threat, the staff of the Maine Public Utilities Commission has concluded.

RELATED HEADLINES

The finding isn’t the final word on the issue, which has been debated for years, but it is a blow to activists who say the radio-frequency emissions from the meters and their wireless networks can be harmful to human health.

The finding is in a 67-page report by a PUC hearing examiner that was posted Tuesday on the commission’s website. The report will guide the commission, which ultimately must decide how to handle the protracted case involving the health issues, a subject of global interest. That decision is expected later this year.

Activists have until April 11 to dispute the examiner’s report. Bruce McGlauflin, a lawyer who represents the activists, said Wednesday that he plans to file objections by then.

The PUC staff didn’t specifically determine that the smart meters are safe, McGlauflin said, only that the system meets a set definition as a “safe, reasonable and adequate utility service” under Maine law. He agreed, however, that the finding is a setback for his clients.

“Sure, we would have liked the examiner’s report to agree with us,” McGlauflin said. “But it doesn’t preclude the commissioners from agreeing with us.”

In 2009, the PUC approved CMP’s plan to replace old-style analog electricity meters with digital smart meters for its 620,000 customers. Health activists soon objected, joined by residents who claimed that they suffered from various medical symptoms after the meters were installed. They appealed the PUC’s approval in court, arguing that the commission hadn’t met its legal obligation to ensure that the $200 million smart-meter program is safe.

In 2012, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court agreed with the activists and ordered the PUC to take a second look at the health issues.

The PUC doesn’t have the expertise to conduct its own health studies so it has relied on accumulated knowledge. It accepted thousands of pages of new testimony from experts across the globe. The case now encompasses more than 660 separate filings, with reams of written and oral testimony from expert witnesses on the connection between brain tumors and the use of cellphones, for instance, and from residents who link the meters with symptoms that include headaches and fatigue.

After reviewing the testimony, the PUC staff wasn’t convinced that the meters pose a health hazard.

It said that the scientific evidence presented in the case is inconclusive. It found no credible, peer-reviewed studies to show a direct health risk from smart meters. The studies that do show a risk are based on exposures to much higher radio-frequency levels, the staff noted.

The staff also determined that the radio-frequency emissions from the smart-meter network comply with federal safety standards, and that no state or federal regulatory body or health agency in the United States or Canada has found smart meters to be unsafe.

“By this finding,” the staff wrote, “we do not intend to diminish the concerns of (the intervenors) regarding the possible health impacts from (radio-frequency) emissions.”

The staff said it agreed with the World Health Organization and others that more research is needed, especially since radio-frequency-emitting devices are now so common.

In response to the report, Ed Friedman of Bowdoinham, the lead plaintiff in the 2012 Supreme Judicial Court case, said late Wednesday, “While not surprising the PUC staff continues to thumb their nose at the law ... and show their bias in favor of utilities, it’s particularly egregious they rejected something like 800 peer-reviewed scientific references submitted to them as evidence.”

CMP declined to comment Wednesday on the finding, citing PUC rules against trying to influence the commissioners once the examiner’s report is released. It did, however, refer to several points in its testimony, including:

• As confirmed by field measurements, radio-frequency emissions from smart meters are well below those from other natural and man-made sources.

• The health data on other wireless technologies, primarily cellphone data, does not suggest health risks at the level of radio-frequency emissions from smart meters

• CMP’s smart meters’ emissions are below the levels recommended by the opposition’s expert witnesses in the case.

Since it installed the digital meters, CMP has used the technology to read meters remotely and speed service restoration after storms, among other things. Thousands of customers are using a smart-meter-enabled website to help manage their home energy use.

Only two of the three commissioners will decide the case. The chairman, Tom Welch, has recused himself because he did legal work on CMP issues while he was in private law practice.

McGlauflin said it’s not clear what the practical effect would be if the commission did rule in favor of the activists. Short of tearing out all of the meters and replacing them, he said, it’s possible that people who don’t want them at their homes could get analog meters without paying additional fees.

The 8,000 or so customers who have chosen to “opt out” of the smart meter program now pay $12 a month to cover the cost of alternative equipment and meter readings.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Is
cell phone radiation a risk factor for female infertility?

Although we have considerable evidence that cell phone radiation
damages sperm and is associated with male infertility, little attention has
been paid to studying the effects of cell phone radiation on female
infertility.*

A newly published study by Courtney Lynch and her colleagues
found for women trying to get pregnant that stress as measured by the
alpha-amylase levels in their saliva predicted whether they were successful.
The researchers found that women with the highest levels of this enzyme in
their saliva had a 29 percent lower probability of pregnancy compared to those
with the lowest levels.

Although this study did not examine EMF exposure, earlier
research published by Christoph Augner and his colleagues found that people who
lived within 100 meters of cell phone towers had greater salivary alpha-amylase
levels. In an experimental study, the researchers found that exposure to higher
levels of GSM cell tower radiation increased the levels of this salivary
enzyme.

In a 2013 review paper, Nazıroğlu and colleagues examined
research on the effects of Wi-Fi and mobile phone radiation on reproductive
signaling pathways. They reported that this radiation is related to
"oxidative stress and overproduction of free oxygen radicals in female and
male infertility." The authors concluded that "the role of EMR
from mobile phones and wireless devices in female and male fertility should be
investigated."

The news story and study abstracts appear below.

References

Stress May Diminish a Woman's Fertility, Study Suggests

First U.S. review to show a possible link between stress and how
long it takes to get pregnant

Mary Brophy Marcus, HealthDay News, Mar 24, 2014

Stress may increase a woman's risk of infertility, new research
suggests.

The authors of the study wanted to investigate the relationship
between stress and infertility. So they looked at levels of an enzyme linked
with stress in the saliva of women who were trying to get pregnant.

They also tracked the women's ability to conceive over a
12-month period.

"Women with higher levels of the stress biomarker had a
two-fold increased risk of infertility," said study author Courtney Lynch.
The enzyme they measured is called salivary alpha-amylase.

"Alpha-amylase is an enzyme that is secreted into the mouth
that helps the body start to digest carbohydrates," said Lynch, director
of reproductive epidemiology at the Ohio State University College of Medicine.
"It is also linked to the fight-or-flight part of the stress system."

For the study, Lynch and her colleagues collected data from
about 500 couples who were recruited from targeted counties in Texas and
Michigan.

"We tried to find couples who were just starting to try to
get pregnant," Lynch said. "We sent a nursing team out to their
houses who did interviews and trained the women how to use saliva-collection
kits."

The women took saliva samples twice -- at the start of the study
and again after they'd had their first menstrual period during the study time
frame. For most, that was about a month into the study, Lynch said. Since
alpha-amylase can be affected by alcohol, tobacco and caffeine consumption, the
researchers asked the women to take their saliva samples right after waking up
in the morning.

The researchers followed the couples for up to 12 months,
collecting information on whether they'd conceived.

Of the approximately 400 couples who completed the study, 87
percent of the women became pregnant. After adjusting for age, race, income and
the use of alcohol, caffeine and cigarettes, the researchers found that the
women with the highest alpha-amylase levels had a 29 percent lower probability
of pregnancy compared to the women who had the lowest levels of the enzyme.

The study results were published in the March 24 issue of the
journal Human Reproduction.

Lynch said it's important to be clear that the results do not
suggest that stress alone is the reason a woman can't get pregnant.

"The message is not that everyone should go enroll in yoga
tomorrow," she said. "The message is that if you've tried for five or
six months and you aren't getting anywhere, maybe you should look at your
lifestyle and think about whether or not stress might be a problem for
you.

And if it is, you might want to consider a stress-management
program."

The authors said this is the first U.S. study to show a possible
association between a stress indicator and how long it takes a woman to become
pregnant.

Dr. Suleena Kansal Kalra is a reproductive endocrinology and
infertility specialist at the University of Pennsylvania. She called the new
research "a great first step -- it's presenting a way to measure
[indicators] of stress."

"Part of the challenge is that we don't have validated
[indicators] of stress hormones or validated questionnaires that measure
stress, so the next step is that we really need to start validating some of
these tools," said Kalra, who was not involved with the new research.

"Ultimately, we want to know how we can measure stress, and
then, can we intervene?"

Exactly how stress affects fertility is not well understood,
Lynch said. The study's authors said the women in the group with higher levels
of the stress-related enzyme had sex about as often as those in the low-level
group, so frequency of intercourse did not play a role.

Kalra said some women stop ovulating during stressful times,
while others conceive in high-stress environments.

Lynch said the researchers have also collected data on men but
have not yet analyzed it, so it's not yet clear how much a man's stress might
influence a couple's fertility.

Women struggling with infertility who have stressful lifestyles
should not blame themselves, Lynch said. "I don't want women to see this
in the news and say, 'It's my fault I'm not pregnant,'" she said. "We
know stress is not the major indicator of whether or not you're going to get
pregnant."

Kalra agreed, noting that, "Age is the No. 1 factor linked
to the inability to conceive. Mother Nature is cruel and unfair. All our
success rates are better in women under 35. That does not mean every woman in
her late 30s is going to be infertile, but age is the greatest predictor of
success."

She added that cigarette smoking is "absolutely associated
with a decrease in the ability to become pregnant," and obesity is
beginning to be looked at as well.

Kalra is launching a fertility wellness program this spring at
Penn that will combine yoga, meditation, nutrition counseling and a psychologist-led
support group to help women who are hoping to become pregnant.

"Not being able to start your family when you're ready to
do so can create a lot of stress for couples, particularly women," Kalra
said.

"I'm not sure stress is an underlying cause of infertility,
and I often find it counterproductive to tell women if they're a little less
stressed they would become pregnant," she said. "We don't know if
that's true. I generally say, 'I want you to feel as good as possible when
you're embarking on the journey to have a family.' "

SUMMARY ANSWER: Higher levels of stress as measured by salivary
alpha-amylase are associated with a longer time-to-pregnancy (TTP) and an
increased risk of infertility.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Data suggest that stress and reproduction
are interrelated; however, the directionality of that association is unclear.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: In 2005-2009, we enrolled 501
couples in a prospective cohort study with preconception enrollment at two
research sites (Michigan and Texas, USA). Couples were followed for up to 12
months as they tried to conceive and through pregnancy if it occurred. A total
of 401 (80%) couples completed the study protocol and 373 (93%) had complete
data available for this analysis.

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Enrolled women
collected saliva the morning following enrollment and then the morning
following their first observed study menses for the measurement of cortisol and
alpha-amylase, which are biomarkers of stress. TTP was measured in cycles.
Covariate data were captured on both a baseline questionnaire and daily
journals.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: Among the 401 (80%) women
who completed the protocol, 347 (87%) became pregnant and 54 (13%) did not.
After adjustment for female age, race, income, and use of alcohol, caffeine and
cigarettes while trying to conceive, women in the highest tertile of
alpha-amylase exhibited a 29% reduction in fecundity (longer TTP) compared with
women in the lowest tertile [fecundability odds ratios (FORs) = 0.71; 95%
confidence interval (CI) = (0.51, 1.00); P < 0.05]. This reduction in
fecundity translated into a >2-fold increased risk of infertility among
these women [relative risk (RR) = 2.07; 95% CI = (1.04, 4.11)]. In contrast, we
found no association between salivary cortisol and fecundability.

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: Due to fiscal and logistical
concerns, we were unable to collect repeated saliva samples and perceived
stress questionnaire data throughout the duration of follow-up. Therefore, we
were unable to examine whether stress levels increased as women continued to
fail to get pregnant. Our ability to control for potential confounders using
time-varying data from the daily journals, however, minimizes residual
confounding.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: This is the first US study
to demonstrate a prospective association between salivary stress biomarkers and
TTP, and the first in the world to observe an association with infertility.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S): This study was supported by
the Intramural Research Program of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development (contracts #N01-HD-3-3355,
N01-HD-3-3356, N01-HD-3358). There are no conflicts of interest to declare.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Coeval with the expansion of mobile phone
technology and the associated obvious presence of mobile phone base stations,
some people living close to these masts reported symptoms they attributed to
electromagnetic fields (EMF). Public and scientific discussions arose with
regard to whether these symptoms were due to EMF or were nocebo effects. The
aim of this study was to find out if people who believe that they live close to
base stations show psychological or psychobiological differences that would
indicate more strain or stress. Furthermore, we wanted to detect the relevant
connections linking self-estimated distance between home and the next mobile
phone base station (DBS), daily use of mobile phone (MPU), EMF-health concerns,
electromagnetic hypersensitivity, and psychological strain parameters.

DESIGN, MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-seven participants
completed standardized and non-standardized questionnaires that focused on the
relevant parameters. In addition, saliva samples were used as an indication to
determine the psychobiological strain by concentration of alpha-amylase,
cortisol, immunoglobulin A (IgA), and substance P.

CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that self-declared base station
neighbors are more strained than others. EMF-related health concerns cannot
explain these findings. Further research should identify if actual EMF exposure
or other factors are responsible for these results.

METHODS: Fifty seven participants were randomly allocated to one
of three different experimental scenarios (22 participants to scenario 1, 26 to
scenario 2, and 9 to scenario 3). Each participant went through five 50-minute
exposure sessions. The main RF-EMF source was a GSM-900-MHz antenna located at
the outer wall of the building. In scenarios 1 and 2, the first, third, and
fifth sessions were "low" (median power flux density 5.2 microW/m(2))
exposure. The second session was "high" (2126.8 microW/m(2)), and the
fourth session was "medium" (153.6 microW/m(2)) in scenario 1, and
vice versa in scenario 2. Scenario 3 had four "low" exposure
conditions, followed by a "high" exposure condition. Biomedical
parameters were collected by saliva samples three times a session. Exposure
levels were created by shielding curtains.

RESULTS: In scenario 3 from session 4 to session 5 (from
"low" to "high" exposure), an increase of cortisol was
detected, while in scenarios 1 and 2, a higher concentration of alpha-amylase
related to the baseline was identified as compared to that in scenario 3. IgA
concentration was not significantly related to the exposure.

Environmental exposure to electromagnetic radiation (EMR) has
been increasing with the increasing demand for communication devices. The aim
of the study was to discuss the mechanisms and risk factors of EMR changes on
reproductive functions and membrane oxidative biology in females and males. It
was reported that even chronic exposure to EMR did not increase the risk of
reproductive functions such as increased levels of neoantigens abort. However,
the results of some studies indicate that EMR induced endometriosis and
inflammation and decreased the number of follicles in the ovarium or uterus of
rats. In studies with male rats, exposure caused degeneration in the
seminiferous tubules, reduction in the number of Leydig cells and testosterone
production as well as increases in luteinizing hormone levels and apoptotic
cells. In some cases of male and female infertility, increased levels of
oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation and decreased values of antioxidants
such as melatonin, vitamin E and glutathione peroxidase were reported in
animals exposed to EMR. In conclusion, the results of current studies indicate
that oxidative stress from exposure to Wi-Fi and mobile phone-induced EMR is a
significant mechanism affecting female and male reproductive systems. However,
there is no evidence to this date to support an increased risk of female and
male infertility related to EMR exposure.

Conclusions

.. EMR exposure from Wi-Fi and mobile phones is related to
oxidative stress and overproduction of free oxygen radicals in female and male
infertility. Use of mobile phones and wireless devices has been increasing day
by day. There are very scarce data on Wi-Fi-induced reproductive dysfunction in
female and male individuals. However, carcinogenic and proliferative effects of
mobile phones (Kim et al. 2010) and Wi-Fi (Kumar et al. 2011; Kesari et al.
2011; Nazırog˘lu et al. 2012b) have been reported in animals and cell culture
systems, although there is no report on Wi-Fi- or mobile phone-induced cancer
in reproductive tissues of female and male individuals. In the future, the role
of EMR from mobile phones and wireless devices in female and male fertility
should be investigated.

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About Me

While I have always been extremely health conscious and am presently in excellent health, I did become temporarily out-of-commission (i.e. I was really sick) in 2005 with a number of at the time unexplainable symptoms. I was quite puzzled at the time because I had been eating mainly organically grown food, drinking spring water, doing Yoga every morning, and going to the gym several times a week. In other words, I was doing everything one is supposed to do to stay healthy. I was not supposed to get sick. It took me six months before discovering or even imagining the main source of the problem - which was in fact "overexposure to electromagnetic" - especially microwave - radiation. I was living within 200 meters of two cell phone towers at the time and within 500 meters of a 3rd one with numerous WiFi signals bleeding into my apartment from adjacent neighbors. I developed a host of symptoms, which are found in what has been misleadingly described as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) -- but much more accurately described as Radio Wave or Microwave Sickness. Large numbers of people in the USA suddenly started getting sick in 1984...